Pop country group Rascal Flatts, the top-selling country group of the last decade, best known for their pallid and catchy tunes, prickly hair, and overt use of the pitch-correcting program Auto-tune in both the recorded and live formats, is now a member of the most sacred of all country music institutions, The Grand Ole Opry.

The announcement came as a surprise to the group, and the Opry crowd at tonight’s (9-27-11) Opry performance, where Rascal Flatts was scheduled to perform along with Larry Gatlin, The Charlie Daniels Band, and others. During the middle of Rascal Flatts performance, Vince Gill, 20-year Opry member and default MC for all things mainstream country music, interrupted the group and made the announcement, looking stunning in a set of dark-rimmed designer glasses. According to Vince, the “official” announcement, or induction will happen on October 8th, when The Opry is having their 86th Birthday Concert. Reportedly, singer Gary LeVox, bassist Jay DeMarcus and guitarist Joe Don Rooney cried like babies after the announcement, while the crowd of tourists gave then a standing ovation.

Hey, this is Saving Country Music, did you expect me to deliver this news without snarky quips?

Afterwards, Rascal Flatts gave thanks to their hair designers, Antares Audio Technologies for creating Auto-Tune, the 14-year-old girls that make up the majority of their fan base, and the infant version of Jesus.

Membership into the Grand Ole Opry is seen as one of the highest accolades in all of country music, from country music’s oldest institution. Some country pop and crossover stars have been Opry members before, and performed on the Opry stage. But never before has an act that is so overtly commercial, or so lacking in creative aptitude been inducted. And the worst part is, the majority of Rascal Flatts’ fans won’t even care that they are members, because The Opry institution means little to nothing to them.

You beat me to everything Trigger..but you took the words right out of my keyboard, literally. I don’t even care enough anymore to care…and that is what makes it so sad.

Sadly, the “highest honor” isn’t even much of an honor anymore, it is just a way to sell tickets and put asses in the seats 10-times a year. Good for Rascal Flatts, I am sure they will do a great job being an “ambassador to the history of the genre” of country music, even if they don’t sing country music.

I guess all those COUNTRY legends are retired from performing and are too old and can’t or won’t perform 10 times a year, so there is really no reason they should be given the “highest honors for a country musician” no matter what they have done for the genre in the past or how many of the current members they inspired to become the artists they are today.

This is so stupid!
I found your website about a week ago and while i hadn’t really heard of any of the musicians (except Hank3 and Shooter Jennings) but i pretty much agreed with you outlook on modern country music (and found some awesome new music).

And even though i like some of the stuff on the radio today (Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley stuff like them) I hate Rascall Flatts. I always have. They are terrible and they write (or they have people write) some of the worst stuff out there. I can live with them being on the radio cause i can always change the channel but for the Opry to put a “southern pop” act in is awful.

Sad….just sad. Hank has to be rolling over in his grave, as we speak. It’s not just country music, though. Look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Madonna? Really???) I think Nashville is quickly losing its claim to fame as the country music capital of the world, which is sad, because I love Nashville, as a city. Musicians from Texas, especially Dale Watson and Wayne Hancock, seem to be carrying the torch for real country music, now. There is very little hope, I think, for Nashville. Someone should start the Louisiana Hayride up again, or establish a new “Opry” in Austin.

I’ll be honest, I’m new to listening to real country. I didn’t like anything with any twang in it until after my senior year of high school. I started listening to pop country then and I liked it, but I’ve always hated Rascal Flatts. They are terrible. And then when Jason Aldean released Dirt Road Anthem and they played it on the radio two or three times an hour I stopped listening. It wasn’t long after that that I discovered this site. I’ve been listening to nothing but real country since. This site has led me to a lot of good music and I’ve learned a lot about the history of country music. If not for this site it wouldn’t even bother me that Rascal Flatts was going to be inducted. But now that I know how important the Opry is (or at least was) this is disgusting. Even when I thought pop country was good I thought Rascal Flatts wasn’t even close to country. This is a travesty and I’m glad I’m free to listen to REAL country acts like Roger Alan Wade, Wayne Hancock, Dale Watson, and the classics like Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed.

Believe me without this site, I would have given up on country music, although I’m sure I would have stumbled upon Hank Williams eventually. And I’m not saying I hadn’t heard of him before this site, I had just never actually given him a chance. Now I’m addicted lol

The Opry is a business and to be a member you gotta make appearences, commit to a schedule, etc… so it looks like after searching high and low, they found this joke of a country band, that probably is slowing down the tour schedule and wants to stay near Nashville, so by default, they are the new members.
That is the saddest thing about the Opry now, it selects members by default.

I nearly wanted to vomit at the acceptance by these douche bags. The fake hands to the eyes to hold back tears, first Gary, then Joe Donn, then what’s his name…the “oh what a surprise” look. The self pat on the back for visiting Iraq and selling out arenas….

And nothing says real country music than Vince coming out in a suit and designer glasses (as Trig pointed out) and joking around with these “country boys” not over a drink they recently had, not over a barroom they played, but over playing golf for $500 a round.

I attended the Grand Ole Opry a couple of weeks ago for George Jones 80th birthday and realized even the hosts of the show were talking about “tonight you’ll see real country music.” Bill Anderson and others made numerous comments about the amount of traditional country at the Opry on that special night, and they were correct. Jamey Johnson and Alan Jackson, two of the most popular traditional country artists performed that night. It was a great change from the pop country artists that play the Opry regularly.

“Membership into the Grand Ole Opry is seen as one of the highest accolades in all of country music”…….

I’ve got to disagree with you there, Trig. With members that include Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood……I think it’s days as major accomplishment are long gone. It’s a billboard award, just like a CMA or a Grammy for best country album.

And I’ll agree with you Bunch. Triggerman also called the institution sacred and it’s far from that . . . bowed down to greed, fame, fortune and bullshit does not make you sacred. A huge step in redemption would be to reinstate Hank whom they have tossed aside as not worthy and yet still want to profit from his talent. Can you say hypocrite? Can you say greedy? Can you smell the bullshit? And then induct artists who don’t really or truly know what it is to struggle to the top? To fight for their art? Country is real, pop country is the OPRY. Livin’ in a fairytale world.

I’m curious, has there been any talk by anyone yet over creating a NEW institution that is created by the people and for the people that honors the true legends of country music? Or are we just going to keep moaning and whining when an outdated, out-of-touch, bought-n-paid for “legacy” keeps selling themselves to the highest bidder?

My point, exactly. There needs to be a new and credible organization for real, traditional country music. The problem is, there’s no competition. It would take a lot of people (and a lot of money) to get it up and running, but it would be worth it.

First off, for people saying we shouldn’t care if Rascal Flatts is being inducted, because look at who else already is, that is a fair point, but I think Rascal Flatts is crossing a big line. I’m not a big fan of Garth Brooks, but since his reign in country music, country has so diluted itself, Garth now looks like a purist. Carrie Underwood is an American Idol winner, and without question sings pop country. By not even once during her career have I had a reason to call her out, for either behavior, or her music being offensive in some manner. But Rascal Flatts is the definition of superstar watered-down pop country manufactured to appeal to the masses without any regard for taste or tradition.

As for starting a new institution, and this plays into the Reinstate Hank argument as well, people need to understand that The Grand Ole Opry IS country music. There was no country music, until WSM in 1925 started a radio show that brought in blues, hillbilly, and old-time artists all together in a big tent and started broadcasting it around the country. Rascal Flatts is going to be formally inducted on The Opry’s 89th birthday. So do we start a new institution that is 89 years behind, with no established tradition, or do we kick the money changers out of the mother church and try to reign this thing back in?

Gaylord doesn’t even want The Opry, and they’ve floated the idea of selling it in the past. To Gaylord, it is real estate, the Ryman and the Opry House, and the branding they can use with the Opry name. The reason they signed Rascal Flatts is to attempt to make money on an institution that is a pain in their ass to deal with logistically.

The only institution that can be trusted in Nashville to preserve the country music traditions is the Country Music Hall of Fame, and I’ve thought for years they should be in charge of the Opry, just like they are in charge of many of the country music archives, and RCA’s historic “Studio B” on Music Row.

We’ll have to agree to disagree. The Opry could induct a literal turd (probably claiming it came from Dunn’s butthole after being constipated for days on a tour) and it would have as much bearing on my life as Rascal Flatts being inducted. But, I don’t want to debate or argue over whether or not I should care about this.

I do feel though, all traditions have to start sometime. And just because it would be a new institution, it can still honor the real legends of the past and it would become ‘important’ in time due to the strict eligibility requirements put in place by the people who run it. I’m not sure there will ever be a day when these faux-country acts will all be removed from the Opry as there is likely too much bullshit piled up high with record labels, distributors and executives, good-god the executives.

As far as the money, I think it’s do-able but just a matter of finding the right people who can get the work done, do a great job and pretty much give up their personal lives to get it off the ground and running.

Well, that’s a good point about the Hall of Fame being in charge of the Opry, I never thought of that. I just pray to God that they don’t go the way of the Opry and induct these pop-country acts into the Hall, some day.

This makes me sick to my stomach. Rascal Flatts, to me, is the the epitome of pop country, the face of evil, the personification of the death of country. But…

You have to consider it in context. The Opry is a tourist trap. Ever since it moved from the Ryman to that palace of plastic, located next to a friggin’ shopping mall for heaven’s sake (!) (Opry Mills), the Opry sold its soul. I grew up listening to the Opry on WSM every Sat. night, interrupting my usual listening choices (WKDA, WMAK, WVOL: rock ‘n roll, soul) to hear roots mountain music and white blues.

When the Gaylord corporation forced the show to move out to Opryland, thousands of us in Nashville howled. We knew it would be the death of the heart and soul of country. Well, it didn’t quite kill it, but it’s still trying, I guess, given this Rascal Flats thing.

I still go to the Opry occasionally, during winter when it’s held at the Ryman. And to be fair, the majority of every show is dedicated to real country. Some typical acts you’ll hear there are: George Jones, Marty Stuart, Mel Tillis, Alison Krauss, Charlie Louvin, Gene Watson, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Milsap, the Whites, Rhonda Vincent, Connie Smith, etc. But every Opry show has a zinger, a “new country” act to draw in the rubes. That’s why they induct acts like the one we’re talking about. But even knowing that it’s a con to draw in tourists, a hook that pulls in idiots, it still exposes people to some real, roots, down-home music. Even so, the thought of Rascal Flats as honored members makes me want to puke…

Good point about the Opry changing when it moved from the Ryman. Reminds me of the Dale Watson song “Nashville Rash”, namely the line “Should’ve known when they closed the old Opry down….things were bound to change in that town.”

it’s better if ol’ Hank is not inducted into that circus. Hank is still considered the greatest and still not in the Opry. Means that real country is about everything in real life without institutional considerations. Country is a music from and for real people without the need to belong to an institution. The greatest country artists are outlaws…

Oh please. You are all pretentious ninnies! Country, Iike all music genres, evolve. Fans of the Opry from the 1920’s would have a hard time relating to Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell. So please, spare me your “holier-than-thou” sanctimonious B.S. comments about the Opry losing its soul. Every modern country artist has been influenced by classic country artists, Rascal Flatts is no exception. You may not like their music…they may not sound honky-tonk….but that doesn’t mean they aren’t country. They deserve the honor of membership. So, congrats,